Further reaction to duty rise by Heineken UK and Westons
Following yesterday’s negative reactions from Brothers Cider and Molson Coors to the rise in duty which will come into effect in the UK as of Sunday evening, both Heineken UK and Weston Cider have revealed their disappointment at the move.
Nigel Pollard, head of communications for Heineken UK, told The Drum that he felt that the alcohol industry had made 'a good case' to the Government about ‘the plight of pubs at the moment’ and had hoped that the Government would consider this instead of raising prices further.
“Sadly that went unheard and we saw an increase which has not been good news for the trade and we’ve very disappointed about that,” explained Pollard.
Heineken is the brewer of Strongbow, which will, alongside the rest of the cider industry, see an increase of 10p to bring it in line with beer prices – despite the cost of cider being higher to produce.
“We have to simply get on with it,” continued Pollard when asked how the company will react.
“If we worry about legislation we’d spend too much time looking inwardly. We have to keep investing in our brand, as Strongbow is by far the biggest cider brand in the world and we need to make it more attractive to drink and hopefully our customers will try use that to attract more drinkers through the door. We also have some of the biggest beer brands as well, but it’s a very challenging time for pubs and we feel for them and we must do what we can to help them through things such as bar boosters and other promotional items which we’ve been talking to pubs about.”
Yesterday, Matthew Showering, managing director of Brothers Drinks said that he felt that the pricing increase would make the cider industry ‘less competitive’ for smaller cider producers.
Roger Jackson, commercial director for cider brand Westons said that the decision was likely to have an adverse impact on the industry which has been strong during the economic turmoil faced around the world.
“As orchards take years to yield a return, we and our growers, all local, have been investing heavily in the planting of hundreds of acres of new orchards to ensure the growth we have experienced over the last few years is sustainable. If sales decline and the demand for apples fall, this decision has the potential to reverse this trend and the loss to our rural economy and the environment will be enormous,” said Jackson.